This summer, I'm frantically working on Hetalia cosplays for Anime Iowa. I have three costumes for myself, and I'm helping with five more (three of them being for my buddy who still needs to get on this blog.)
I'm sure you're wondering how this helps anyone. Well, I'd like to point out that I HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING MORE THAN CLOSET COSPLAY BEFORE. So if I can do it, then you can do it too.
I'll be constantly taking pictures and documenting progress with tutorials whenever I can, because there's nothing I love more than helping everyone else. I'll add links to anything I can to illustrate what I'm talking about. If anyone who owns the things I've linked to isn't okay with this, I will remove them upon request.
THE LIST OF LISTS
My cosplays for AI:
-Ancient Scandinavia
-Teutonic Knight Prussia (with armor)
-Terminator Maid Austria (based on a fanfiction, and also for the lols)
Cosplays I am helping with for AI:
-Ancient Magyar
-Ancient Gaul
-T-1000 America (to compliment Terminator Austria)
-Rome
-Mafimano (South Italy in a devilish suit)
EXPLANATIONS AND PROGRESS
Ancient Scandinavia: One of my friends cosplays Ancient Rome, and she put together an Ancients group for this year. Unfortunately, our Mongolia and Mama Egypt dropped out, but we still have Rome, Germania, Mama Greece, Scandinavia, Magyar, and Gaul. All applicable characters have been heavily drawn on personality-wise from GreenEyedLady's Outcast, which is an extremely well-written SuFin fanfiction. If you haven't read it and can stomach SuFin, you should check it out here: http://greeneyedlady.livejournal.com/104661.html#cutid1
I'm the group's Scandinavia, and the first problem I noticed after frantically calling dibs on this costume was this: I'm 5'5". Scandinavians are hella tall. So today, I have been designing platform high-heeled boots so I can be about 6'0" (putting me at two inches above our next tallest Ancient, four inches taller than our Denmark, and just three inches short of our Sweden.) I already know I'm gonna die, and I've come to terms with this fact.
I found patterns at my grandparents' house that can be modified for many of his costume pieces. One of my good friends did artwork here: http://xyrenoftwilight.deviantart.com/#/d2rmq5e. I have a pattern for his cloak, jerkin, and gauntlets now. I plan to cheat on his undershirt and just sew tan cotton sleeves to the insides of his jerkin sleeves and a second collar at the top to imply another shirt. I'm also cutting another corner and just wearing a pair of brown pants I already own. Our awesome Sweden is going to try to make me a 4 foot broadsword, and hopefully I'll have enough leather left to make a scabbard. The runes say "Skandinavia" on his scabbard, which I think is a nice touch. And the white fur is either fake fur or rabbit fur, depending on which is more affordable and easier to find. Lastly, our mega-friendly Denmark has promised to lend me his battleaxe if he isn't able to go to AI 2010.
Teutonic Knight Prussia: I'm using a fanmade "Armored Teuton" design that I saw in a youtube video, Viva Gilbert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4F0fptjnIc (at 0:38). The Prussia from the Gilblog happened to have the full picture, which I haven't found anywhere else, and he gave it to me. Then, let's just say that I know some people who know some people who know some leatherworkers from the local Ren Fest. After a quick jaunt to Tandy Leather Factory for some raw materials and Target for some tagboard, my epic Rome and I had patterns made for all of our armor and Rome went home with a completed breastplate (more on the breastplate later.) It's full "limb" armor (meaning I don't have a breastplate) and moves the same way metal armor does. I'll be painting the completed leather armor a silver color with a special leather paint (also at Tandy) to try for that metal sheen. The Ren Fest guards are actually using me as a guinea pig for this, because if they can get away with using lightweight, cooler leather armor rather than heavy fully metal armor, they will. Depending on my time constraints, I might go so far as stippling on black "corrosion" to make my armor look older. The only thing I'm worried about is if I'll have "armor" for my hands and feet. I suppose I can fudge some if I have to. Any suggestions, internet?
Then there's the rest of the costume. I have a pattern for the black jerkin and the long white cape, though I'm not sure what materials to make these out of. Then I'll topstitch a white cross onto the black jerkin, and a black "Iron Cross" onto the bottom right side of the cloak. That should be simple enough.
I can use the same belt and sword as the Scandinavia costume above, but without the scabbard.
I'm working on a coif and cheating a chain mail shirt with black, thin rings. I'll be sewing a ring of chain mail to the bottom of the jerkin and at the ends of the sleeves, because a full mail shirt would be terribly hot, tiring, and a crapload of work. I'll post pictures and a chain mail tutorial when my camera is working again.
Lastly, I have the Gilbird I used at Anime Detour 2010. The same awesome friend who drew Ancient Scandinavia up there said she'd sew my little Gilbird a Teutonic cape to match mine if I ever get him mailed to her.
Terminator Maid Austria: Okay, this one is the nerdiest thing I have ever done in my life, I swear. This happened because of my obsession with Terminator 2 combined with my obsession with Hetalia and my obsession with fanfiction. It also requires explanation (and maybe some defending of my sanity).
If you've seen Terminator 2 (and if you haven't, it's my favorite action movie and I fully recommend it, and everything I'm about to say won't make sense unless you've seen it) then you know that Schwarzenegger is the Terminator (T-800 model, for clarity). Well, Schwarzenegger is also Austrian. My mind very quickly linked the two, and fanfiction was born.
Logically, if Austria is the T-800, then teenage Prussia is the annoying pre-pubescent John Connor, and Hungary is the butt-kicking Sarah Connor (even if they aren't related.) And if Austria has to follow all of Prussia's orders, he'd end up in a maid dress, courtesy of the Bad Friends Trio. Think about it. So really, this cosplay makes perfect sense. I'll link to this fanfiction once I finish it.
This costume has also been drawn by that same amazing friend who did Scandinavia. It's here: http://xyrenoftwilight.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2rhsmg. As you can see, she's really awesome. The dress is based off of this: http://kyocs.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d1bk4nf. I commissioned a friend who wants to start her own small, independent cosplay business because I knew this was above my skill level and she'd appreciate it as much as I would. I'm going to be wearing my black combat boots to stay with the style of Terminator (and to make it more obvious that I'm trying to be a man) and I might wear stockings or fishnets, I haven't decided. I'll be wearing black leather gloves as well, but I already own those. I'm going to spray paint a Nerf Scout (seen here: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3552/3410787207_cb165d2b68_o.jpg to tuck into my dress-matching thigh holster. I'm also spray painting my Nerf Vulcan http://nerfguns.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/nerf-vulcan-blaster.jpg to imitate the T-800's minigun. Depending on how much time I have, I might go crazy with painting on details. I also want to spray paint the lever-action Rapid Fire Rifle http://www.buzzbeetoys.com/USglobal/RSAirBlasters/46300.html and flip-cock it like in the movie. I won't use the clip, because it just sticks out unnecessarily.
Lastly, I'm going to attempt to rig up a glowing Terminator eye for my right eye, complete with exposed silver skull and trauma wounds, like this one: http://actionflickchick.com/superaction/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/term2_2667a.jpg. The makeup will probably be close to just my right eye and cheekbone, however.
Ancient Magyar: My blog-buddy is cosplaying the Uralic grandpa of Hungary, Finland, and Estonia. I'll have the colored lineart (done, once again, by the same awesome friend) up as soon as I've finished coloring it. She did a ton of research for this cosplay, so props and epic points to her.
I guess I'm kinda in charge of putting this together, since it was me who convinced him to do it in the first place. I got modifiable patterns for his overcoat, shirt, and boots today. He's wearing white women's jeans that somehow fit him perfectly for this costume, found at Savers.
He has a ton of weapons: Bow and arrows, short sword, and a spear. I might make him a leather armguard to imply that he keeps raptors for hunting (historically, he'd have a golden eagle). I haven't planned for these just yet.
Lastly, he's getting a long brown wig, because Magyar has a ponytail that hangs about to the middle of his back.
Ancient Gaul: She's also going as casual France to AI, so I figured, why not go as France's mama? This one is still in the making, more information in a later post.
T-1000 America: My blog buddy agreed to compliment my Terminator Austria cosplay with this. We're going the easy and accurate way and ordering him a police uniform. We'll have to dye the shirt black, probably, but I've been told by the girl making my maid dress that this isn't too difficult.
We're also just buying an LAPD badge for him, but we're spicing up the cosplay with silver arm-hooks, aviator sunglasses, and silver shotgun wounds like this cosplayer: http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/spotlights/2008/t1000_500.jpg.
Then he gets an America wig and actually smiles in pictures. Swish!
Rome: She was very very VERY unhappy with her last breastplate, so we made one out of leather. It still needs work, but it's already better than what she had. In her new breastplate, she can sit down, feed herself, and breathe (because she doesn't need to bind her DD cup boobs in it, and you can't tell she isn't flat-chested) all of which were extremely difficult or impossible in the last one. I'll put more information in a later post as we work on it.
Mafimano: My blog-buddy has one last cosplay-Mafia South Italy. This one's pretty easy, he needs a suit anyways, so he's getting one based on this picture: http://alexiel-viii.deviantart.com/art/MAFITALIA-117304009 (and yeah, I know that's North Italy.) He's getting a wig and I'm styling the ahoge, and he might be using my Terminator Austria Nerf pistol.
He'll be using my wrist-length black leather gloves, too. Depending on cost, he might even get a fedora, black with a red band.
I think that's it, internet readers! Any and all comments, suggestions, and criticism will be well-received and much-appreciated!
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